Struggling for consensus on Zimbabwe, Commonwealth leaders were convening a six-nation panel to debate the increasingly divisive issue of President Robert Mugabe's suspension from the bloc of Britain and its former colonies.
The committee of Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Mozambique and South Africa is charged with resolving the impasse over the Commonwealth's stance toward the troubled southern African country.
Western leaders say the year-old suspension should hold until Zimbabwe embraces democracy and human rights. But several African states are supporting Mugabe's reinstatement -- insisting that dialogue and engagement, not isolation, will bring about change.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Trying to keep the dispute from overwhelming discussions on other urgent global issues at the 52-nation summit, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Friday ordered up a special panel to set ground rules for determining whether Zimbabwe's isolation continues.
"The leaders who have been designated to work through the issue will over the next 24 hours look at the benchmarks against which suspension will be evaluated," said New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark.
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said the committee would develop a "mechanism of surveillance" to decide whether Zimbabwe should be readmitted.
He said it was possible the suspension could be lifted before the next Commonwealth summit in two years' time, but stressed the onus was on Mugabe to reform.
"At this point we are debating a solution that's very much in his own hands," Chretien said.
Other leaders at the summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, will focus on global issues: combating terrorism, HIV-AIDS and promoting free trade.
Britain, Australia and Nigeria say they want to get the trade talks that collapsed in Cancun, Mexico back on track.
"It must be the aim of the members of the Commonwealth to see a fairer trade deal, particularly for the developing members," said Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who called for action to start removing "the debilitating effect of trade barriers."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted a "reassertion of the commitment among the Commonwealth countries to fight terror, block the funding of terror and take the necessary security actions against terrorists."
The division over Zimbabwe quickly overtook Friday's first Commonwealth executive session, creating a "tense" atmosphere behind closed doors, said a senior delegate who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The country was suspended last year after Mugabe narrowly won re-election amid claims of vote-rigging and intimidation.
Instead of striving to meet the Commonwealth's benchmarks -- such as respect for human rights, a free media and political opposition -- critics say the situation in Zimbabwe has worsened.
The government has continued to crack down on political dissent, arresting opposition leaders and shutting down the country's only independent daily newspaper.
The seizure of thousands of white-owned farms has crippled the agriculture-based economy. Official inflation is running at 526 percent, and there are acute shortages of hard currency, food, gas, medicine and other imports.
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